Crescent-Shaped Loom Weights of the 2nd Millenium BC Found in the East of Büyük Menderes (Meander) River Basin (With a Group of Pyramidal Weights)

Abstract

Many findings indicating textile production have been detected during surveys in the area extending from Dinar to the Acıgöl section, from where the first springs of the Büyük Menderes River originated, in the southwest of province Afyonkarahisar. Among them, loom weights, most of which are crescent-shaped, some of them pyramidal shaped and mostly dated to the 2nd millennium BC, constitute a reference for production and economic developments in the region. Starting from the point that locations of these four major settlements such as Dazkırı Ağılların Önü, Evciler Kocahöyük, Dinar Dikici Höyük and especially Başmakçı Yakaköy Kocahöyük which surround this basin, spread to large areas of 10-16 hectares, and the loom weights and ceramics dating back to the 2nd millennium BC are intense, it can be thought that these areas may have been the main centers of their time economically or politically. Among these settlements, Yakaköy Kocahöyük, where the crescent-shaped loom weights are the most intense, also stands out with its spread over 16 hectares and current height of 14 m. Here, much more loom weight has been detected than others; however, the fact that crescent-shaped or pyramidal weights are found in other settlements surrounding the basin indicates that textile production is generally common in this section. Loom weights determined in this area can also be evaluated within the scope of textile production and interregional trade mentioned in the documents of the Assyrian Trading Colony age of the first quarter of the 2nd millennium BC. The historical natural road that extends from Dikici Mound towards Ağılların Önü Mound should have set a suitable ground for the commercial activities in point. In addition, the fact that the current crescent-shaped loom weights having similar form features can also be considered as signs of the organization in production or the conception of a central production.